Buckle assembly

ABSTRACT

A buckle assembly for use with belts and straps having a frame and a pivot pin formed of a suitable resilient material such as plastic. The frame has a pivotal cross-member and a support cross-member, while the pivot pin has a first end portion, a second end portion, and a main body portion connecting the two end portions. The pivotal cross-memeber has a cylindrical shaft portion extending between two parallel cylindrical support plates, and the first end portion of the pivot pin has a radial passage which tapers inwardly to a transverse central opening. The buckle assembly may be manually assembled by inserting the first end portion of the pivot pin between the support plates and forcing the shaft portion through the radial passage into resilient receipt in the central opening. In use, the hinge pin pivots about the pivotal cross-member but the tightness of the fit between the various surfaces of the pivot pin and the pivotal cross-member maintains the pivot pin in a plane perpendicular to a plane through the frame and substantially eliminates lateral movement or play of the pivot pin. This facilitates insertion of the pivotal pin through a hole in the belt or strap to which the frame is attached. In use, the tension of the belt pulls the second end portion of the hinge pin into bearing contact with the support cross-member. The second end portion may have outer and inner hook portions projecting downwardly therefrom to define a slot therebetween which snugly receives the support cross-member and provides the hinge pin with additional strength.

United States Patent [1 Swierkot [111 3,846,874 [451 Nov. 12, 1974 1BUCKLE ASSEMBLY Helmut Johann Swierkot, 26 Seabrook Ave., Toronto,Ontario, Canada 22 Filed: Mar. 9, 1973 211 Appl. No.: 339,722

[76] inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 28, 1972 Canada 140898 [52]US. Cl. 24/188 [51] Int. Cl ..A44b 11/20 [58] Field of Search 24/265 BC,187, 189, 191, 24/192,170,193,163,l78,l88

Primary ExaminerDonald A. Griffin [57] ABSTRACT A buckle assembly foruse with belts and straps having a frame and a pivot pin formed of asuitable resilient material such as plastic. The frame has a pivotalcrossmember and a support cross-member, while the pivot pin has a firstend portion, a second end portion, and a main body portion connectingthe two end portions. The pivotal cross-memeber has a cylindrical shaftportion extending between two parallel cylindrical support plates. andthe first end portion of the pivot pin has a radial passage which tapersinwardly to a transverse central opening. The buckle asscmbly may bemanually assembled by inserting the first end portion of the pivot pinbetween the support plates and forcing the shaft portion through theradial passage into resilient receipt in the central opening. In use,the hinge pin pivots about the pivotal cross-member but the tightness ofthe fit between the various surfaces of the pivot pin and the pivotalcross-member maintains the pivot pin in a plane perpendicular to a planethrough the frame and substantially eliminates lateral movement or playof the pivot pin. This facilitates insertion of the pivotal pin througha hole in the belt or strap to which the frame is attached. In use, thetension of the belt pulls the second end portion of the hinge pin intobearing contact with the support crossmember. The second end portion mayhave outer and inner hook portions projecting downwardly therefrom todefine a slot therebetween which snugly receives the supportcross-member and provides the hinge pin with additional strength.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 l 22 20 60 I4 48104- 13 l BUCKLE ASSEMBLYBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates generally to buckleassemblies used with belts and straps and more particularly to a buckleassembly formed of a resilient material.

In the past, buckle assemblies having a metal pivot pin attached to ametal frame have been widely used. These buckle assemblies have had thedisadvantages that the attachment of the hinge pin to the frame isrelatively difficult, and the pivotal connection formed permits theextended end of the pivot pin to move laterally, thereby making it moredifficult to insert the pivot pin through a hole in the belt. Otherdisadvantages of metal buckle assemblies are that they are relativelyexpensive to manufacture, subjectto corrosion, difficult to form intodesired shapes, difficult to colour, cold to the touch, relativelyheavy, subject to metal detection and of some danger to the wearer asthey have sharp corners which do not easily yield or fracture undercompression.

More recently, attempts have been made to overcome some of thesedisadvantages by forming buckle assemblies of plastic. However, theseprevious plastic buckle assemblies have still had the disadvantages thatthey are difficult to assemble by attaching the hinge pin to the frame,and that the pivotal connection formed still permits lateral play of theextended end of the hinge pin which makes it more difficult to. insertthe hinge pin through a hole in the belt or strap to which it isattached than if the hinge pin merely pivoted in a single plane. Thisdifficulty in assembling those buckle assemblies adds significantly tothe cost of the buckle assemblies which are otherwise quite economicalto manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this inventionto at least partially overcome these disadvantages by providing abuckleassembly which is relatively easy to manually assemble and whichhas a pivot pin formed of a suitable resilient material which pivots ina single plane with relatively little lateral movement from that plane.

To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention provides a buckleassembly comprising a frame and a hinge pin, the frame including apivotal cross-member and a parallel support cross-member, the hinge pinhaving first and second end portions, the first end portion beingadapted to be resiliently pivotally connected to the pivotalcross-member, the support cross-member of the frame being rigidlylocated relative to the pivotal cross-member and adapted to support thesecond end portion of the hinge pin when the first end portion ispivotally connected tothe pivotal cross-member and the buckle assemblyis in use.

' In another of its aspects, the invention provides a buckle assemblycomprising a frame and a hinge pin, the frame including a pivotalcross-member and a parallel support cross-member, the pivotalcross-member having a cylindrical shaft portion, the hinge pin beingelongated and having a first end portion, a main body portion and asecond end portion, the first end portion having an outer surface, acentral cylindrical transverse opening adapted to pivotally receive theshaft portion, and a passage with at least one tapered side extendingfrom the outer surface to the central opening, the passage adapted topermit resilient insertion of the shaft portion of the pivotalcross-member through the passage into retained pivotal receipt in thecentral opening, the support cross-member of the frame being rigidlylocated relative to the pivotal cross-member and adapted to support thesecond end portion of the hinge pin when the shaft is in pivotal receiptin the central opening and the buckle assembly is in use.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion ofa buckle assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line II-Il in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hinge pin according to the embodimentof the invention seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of a portion of the hinge pin shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the pivotal cross-member ofthe frameof a buckle assembly according to the embodiment of theinvention seen in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is first made to FIG.I which shows a buckle assembly 10 having a frame 12 and a hinge pin 14.The frame 12 has a pivotal cross-member l6 and a support cross-member l8rigidly located parallel to each other by side members 20. The frameshown also has an additional cross-member 22 although this is notnecessarily the case. All of the members of the frame 12 of the buckleassembly shown are generally rectangular in cross-section, although thissimilarly is not necessarily so. The frame 12 and the hinge pin 14 arepreferably formed of suitably resilient plastic by a conventional methodsuch as injection molding. However, the frame 12 could be formed of asuitable non-resilient material.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the pivotal cross-member 16 has a cylindricalshaft portion 24, extending between first and second support plates 26,28; These support plates 26, 28 have cylindrical outer surfaces 30, 32and opposing parallel flat faces 34, 36. The outer edge 38, 40 of eachsupport plate, formed where the outer surfaces joins the flat face, ispreferably bevelled to facilitate insertion of the hinge pin between thesupport plates. Similarly, the inner corners 42, 44, formed where theflat faces 34, 36 join the cylindrical shaft portion 24, are preferablychamferred to provide the shaft portion with additional strength.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the hinge pin 14 is elongated and generallyrectangular in cross-section and has a first end portion 46, a secondend portion 48 and a main body portion 50 connecting the first andsecond end portions. The first end portion 46 has first and secondparallel flat side surfaces 52, 54 and a central cylindrical transverseopening 55 extending therebetween. The opposite rims 56, 57 of thecentral opening 55 formed where the opening 55 meets the side surfaces52, 54 are bevelled to correspond to' chamferred inner corners 42, 44.The first end portion 46 also has a cylindrical outer surface 58.and apassage 60 extending between the cylindrical outer surface 58 and thecentral opening 55.. The passage 60 has first and second sides 62, 64which form outer bevelled comers 63, 65 with the side surfaces 52, 54 tomatch chamferred inner corners 42, 44 to facilitate assembly. Thepassage 60 is narrower adjacent the central opening 55 then adjacent theouter surface 58. This may be provided by having one or both of thesesides 62, 64 converge towards the other as they extend inwardly towardsthe central opening 55. Alternatively, as clearly seen in FIG. 4, thefirst side 62 may be straight and flat, with the second side 64 having afirst flat portion 66 extending from the outer surface 58 parallel tothe first side 64 and a second flat portion 68 extending from the firstflat portion 66 to the central opening 55. As shown, this second flatportion 68 converges towards the first side 62 to form a retaining ridge70 adjacent the central opening 55. The passage 60 is rectangular incross-section and defines a rectangular opening 72 in the cylindricalouter surface 58 of the first end portion 46. As seen in FIG. 4, thisopening 72 is covered by two flexible concealing lips 74, 76 whichextend respectively from the first and second sides 62, 64 of thepassage 60 adjacent the outer surface 58. The lips 74, 76 have the formof the cylindrical outer surface 58, but are sufficiently flexible topermit insertion of the shaft portion 24 of the pivotal cross-member 16into the passage 60, and sufficiently resilient to resume their originalposition concealing opening 72 following insertion of the shaft. In thepreferred embodiment shown, the two concealing lips 74, 76 are of equalsize and extend to contact each other in the middle of opening 72, butit is apparent that one of the lips could be larger than the other oreven that there could be only one concealing lip extending from one sideof the passage 60 to contact the opposite side.

portion 46. The wing portions 82, 84 are rectangular inv cross-sectionand each terminate in a concave cylindrical end surface 86, 88 adjacentthe first end portion 46.

The second end portion 48 of the hinge pin 14 has a lower surface 100from which outer and inner hook portions 102, 104 project downwardly toform a slot 106 therebetween. The slot 106 is rectangular incrosssection and shaped to snugly receive the rectangular shaped supportcross-member 18 with the lower surface 100 in bearing contact with thesupport crossmember when the buckle assembly is in use. As best seen inFIG. 2, the hinge pin 14 bends where the main body portion 50 meets thesecond end portion 48 so that the lower surface 100 of the second endportion 48 is flush with the upper surface 108 of the supportcrossmember 18 in this position. This may also be provided by having themain body portion 50 curved along its length. 1

The hinge pin 14 may be easilyattached to the pivotal cross-member 16 toassemble the buckle assembly 10. The frame 12 is positioned on a flatsupport surface with either side facing upwardly, and the hinge pin 14is grasped with the passage 50 in the first end portion 46 openingvertically downward. The first end portion 46 of the hinge pin 14 islocated between the first and second support plates 26, 28 of thepivotal crossmember 16, and forced downwardly so that the shaft portion24 of the pivotal cross-member 16 deflects the concealing lips 74, 76passes through passage 60 resiliently forcing the first and second sides62, 64 apart, and is resiliently received in central opening 56. As maybe seen, the passage 60' is preferably inclined downwardly and forwardlyat an angle of approximately from the longitudinal'axis 110 of the mainbody portion 50, as it has been found that this permits the hinge pin 14to be held at a convenient angle during assembly. In the assembledposition, the cylindrical shaft portion 24 of the pivotal cross-member16 is pivotally received in the transverse opening 55 in the first endportion 46 of the hinge pin 14, and securely retained there by retainingridge 70. The amount of force necessary to remove the shaft portion 24from the central opening 55 is predetermined by the size of the shaftportion 24, the size of the retaining ridge 70 and the resiliency of thematerial forming the first end portion 46. In fact, in the preferredembodiment of the invention, the shaft portion 24 cannot normally bemanually removed from the opening 55 without damaging the buckleassembly. The resiliency of the first end portion 46 not only permitseasy assembly of the buckle assembly while providing that the fit of theshaft portion 24 in the central opening 55 is sufficiently tight, butalso permits pivotal movement of the hinge pin 14 with respect to theframe 12. In the assembled position, the first and second flat sidesurfaces52, 54 of the first end portion 46 frictionally engage theopposing parallel flat faces 34, 36 of the first and second supportplates 26, 28. Similarly, as the hinge pin 14 is pivoted, thecylindrical end surfaces 86, 88 of the first and second wing portions82, 84 of the main body portion slidably engage a portion of thecylindrical outer surfaces 30, 32 of the first and second supportplates. The close fit of these three different sets of surfaces in theassembled position eliminates or substantially reduces the lateralmovement or play of the hinge pin, while at the same time permits it topivot with respect to the frame in a single plane which is perpendicularto a plane through the frame. The size of the parts forming the varioussurfaces and therefore the tightness of the fit between the pivot pinand the frame are somewhat dependent upon the use to which it isintended to put the assembled buckle assembly. However, in the preferredembodiment shown, the cylindrical shaft portion 24 and the centraltransverse opening are formed size to size; the width of the first endportion 46 of the hinge pin 14 and the distance between the first andsecond support plates 26, 28 are formed size to size; and thecylindrical end surfaces 86, 88 of the first and second wing portions82, 84 are formed to have a diameter of curvature size to size with thediameter of the first and second support plates 26, 28.

In use, the hinge pin 14 pivots about the pivotal cross-member 16 in asingle plane perpendicular to the frame 12, which facilitates insertionof the hinge pin 14 through a hole in the belt or strap to which theframe 12 is attached. When the hinge pin 14 has been inserted through ahole in the belt, the tension of the belt pivots surface 108 of thesupport cross-member 18. Pivot pins which are intended to be used forheavy duty uses or which are small in size may be provided with an outerhook portion 102, or with outer and inner hook portions 102, 104 to givethem additional strength. If the pivot pin 14 has an outer hook portion102, the tension of the belt deflects the main body portion 50 of thehinge pin 14 and thereby pulls the hook portion 102 against the supportcross-member 18. lf the pivot pin 14 hasouter and inner hook portions102, 104, as shown, with the cross-member 18 snugly received in the slot106 defined therebetween, the deflection of the hinge pin isadditionally resisted by a tortional force exerted by the cross-member18 on the second end portion 48 of the hinge pin 14.

In addition, when the hinge pin is deflected by a load on the belt, aportion of the load is transmitted to the cross-member 16 through theend surfaces 86, 88 of the first and second wing portions, 82, 84abutting respectively on the outer surfaces 30, 32 of the first andsecond support plates 26, 28. This distribution of the load forcesincreases the load to which the buckle assembly may be subjected withoutfailure, and is of particular importance in increasing the resistance ofthe buckle assembly to failure due to impact loading.

Although the disclosure describes and illustrates a preferred embodimentof the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is notrestricted to that particular embodiment.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows: t

1. A buckle assembly comprising a frame and a hinge pin, the frameincluding a pivotal cross-member and a parallel support cross-member,the pivotal crossmember having a cylindrical shaft portion, the hingepin being elongated and formed of a suitably resilient plastic andhaving a first end portion, a main body portion and a second endportion, the first end portion having an outer surface, a centralcylindrical transverse opening adapted to pivotally receive the shaftportion, and a passage with first and second opposed sides extendingfrom the outer surface to the central opening, the first side beingflat, the second side having a first flat portion extending from theouter surface of the first end portion parallel to the first side, and asecond flat portion converging towards the first side as it extends fromthe first flat portion to the central opening to form a retaining ridgeadjacent the central opening, the passage adapted to permit resilientinsertion of the shaft portion of the pivotal cross-member through thepassage into retained pivotal receipt in the central opening, thesupport cross-member of the frame being rigidly located relative to thepivotal cross-member and adapted to support the second end portion ofthe hinge pin when the shaft is in pivotal receipt in the centralopening and the buckle assembly is in use.

2. A buckle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the passage definesa rectangular opening in the outer surface of the first end portion,having a flexible concealing lip extending-from at least one side of thepassage adjacent the outer surface of the first end portion to at leastpartially cover the said opening.

3. A buckle assembly comprising a frame and a hinge pin, the frameincluding a pivotal cross-member and a 'parallel support cross-member,the pivotal crossmember having a cylindrical shaft portion, extendingbetween first and second support plates with parallel opposed faces andcylindrical outer surfaces, the hinge pin being elongated and formed ofa suitable resilient plastic and having a first end portion, a main bodyportion and a second end portion, the first end portion having an outersurface, a central cylindrical transverse opening adapted to pivotallyreceive the shaft portion, a passage with at least one tapered sideextending from the outer surface to the central opening, the passageadapted to permit resilient insertion of the shaft portion of thepivotal cross-member through the passage into retained pivotal receiptin the central opening, and first and second parallel flat side surfacesadapted to frictionally engage the respective faces of the first andsecond support plates when the shaft is in pivotal receipt in thecentral opening, and the main body portion of the hinge pin beingrectangular in cross-section with first and second side surfaces andhaving first and second wing portions sloping outward from therespective first and second side surfaces towards the first end portion,the first and second wing portions each terminating in a cylindrical endsurface adjacent the first end portion, each cylindrical end surfacebeing adapted to frictionally engage a portion of the cylindrical outersurface of the respective one of the first and second support plateswhen the shaft is in pivotal receipt in the central opening, the supportcross-member of the frame being rigidly located relative to the pivotalcrossmember and adapted to support the second end portion of the hingepin when the shaft is in pivotal receipt in the central opening and thebuckle assembly is in use.

4. A buckle assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second endportion of the hinge pin has a lower surface with an inner and an outerhook portion extending downwardly therefrom to define a slottherebetween, the support member being snugly received in the slot witha portion of the lower surface being in bearing contact with the supportcross-member when the buckle assembly is in use.

5. A buckle assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supportcross-member has a uniform rectangular cross-section and the second endportion of the hinge pin has a lower surface with an inner and an outerhook portion extending downwardly therefrom to define a slottherebetween, the slot being rectangular in crosssection to snuglyreceive the support cross-member with a portion of the lower surface inbearing contact with the support cross-member when the buckle assemblyis in use.

1. A buckle assembly comprising a frame and a hinge pin, the frameincluding a pivotal cross-member and a parallel support cross-member,the pivotal cross-member having a cylindrical shaft portion, the hingepin being elongated and formed of a suitably resilient plastic andhaving a first end portion, a main body portion and a second endportion, the first end portion having an outer surface, a centralcylindrical transverse opening adapted to pivotally receive the shaftportion, and a passage with first and second opposed sides extendingfrom the outer surface to the central opening, the first side beingflat, the second side having a first flat portion extending from theouter surface of the first end portion parallel to the first side, and asecond flat portion converging towards the first side as it extends fromthe first flat portion to the central opening to form a retaining ridgeadjacent the central opening, the passage adapted to permit resilientinsertion of the shaft portion of the pivotal crossmember through thepassage into retained pivotal receipt in the central opening, thesupport cross-member of the frame being rigidly located relative to thepivotal cross-member and adapted to support the second end portion ofthe hinge pin when the shaft is in pivotal receipt in the centralopening and the buckle assembly is in use.
 2. A buckle assembly asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the passage defines a rectangular opening inthe outer surface of the first end portion, having a flexible concealinglip extending from at least one side of the passage adjacent the outersurface of the first end portion to at least partially cover the saidopening.
 3. A buckle assembly comprising a frame and a hinge pin, theframe including a pivotal cross-member and a parallel supportcross-member, the pivotal cross-member having a cylindrical shaftportion, extending between first and second support plates with parallelopposed faces and cylindrical outer surfaces, the hinge pin beingelongated and formed of a suitable resilient plastic and having a firstend portion, a main body portion and a second end portion, the first endportion having an outer surface, a central cylindrical transverseopening adapted to pivotally receive the shaft portion, a passage withat least one tapered side extending from the outer surface to thecentral opening, the passage adapted to permit resilient insertion ofthe shaft portion of the pivotal cross-member through the passage intoretained pivotal receipt in the central opening, and first and secondparallel flat side surfaces adapted to frictionally engage therespective faces of the first and second support plates when the shaftis in pivotal receipt in the central opening, and the main body portionof the hinge pin being rectangular in croSs-section with first andsecond side surfaces and having first and second wing portions slopingoutward from the respective first and second side surfaces towards thefirst end portion, the first and second wing portions each terminatingin a cylindrical end surface adjacent the first end portion, eachcylindrical end surface being adapted to frictionally engage a portionof the cylindrical outer surface of the respective one of the first andsecond support plates when the shaft is in pivotal receipt in thecentral opening, the support cross-member of the frame being rigidlylocated relative to the pivotal cross-member and adapted to support thesecond end portion of the hinge pin when the shaft is in pivotal receiptin the central opening and the buckle assembly is in use.
 4. A buckleassembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second end portion of thehinge pin has a lower surface with an inner and an outer hook portionextending downwardly therefrom to define a slot therebetween, thesupport member being snugly received in the slot with a portion of thelower surface being in bearing contact with the support cross-memberwhen the buckle assembly is in use.
 5. A buckle assembly as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the support cross-member has a uniform rectangularcross-section and the second end portion of the hinge pin has a lowersurface with an inner and an outer hook portion extending downwardlytherefrom to define a slot therebetween, the slot being rectangular incross-section to snugly receive the support cross-member with a portionof the lower surface in bearing contact with the support cross-memberwhen the buckle assembly is in use.